Forgotten Memories
by FallenAngelOfSalvation
Summary: A girl named Selena knew Sephiroth long ago, and when they meet again years later, she finds that she has been completely wiped from his memory. SephxOC Chapter 3 up now
1. Chapter 1

Forgotten Memories

Chapter 1

By FallenAngelOfSalvation

As the morning sun shone brightly through the drawn drapes in the kitchen of the small cottage just outside of the Haian Mountain path, one could smell the scent of healthy flowers bedded neatly in the front garden below the window, and the clean crisp air blew a gentle breeze, making the flowers sway gently in the breeze. The resident of that house, a lonely young woman could be found out in the backyard hanging out her laundry, her raven hair swaying in the gentle breeze around her.

The young girl's name is Selena, and she has lived there for the past five years, still waiting for a single letter from an old friend she knew long ago. He promised her that he would write to her all the time, but still, no letter. Not a single one for five years. She still holds hope for the man she nearly fell in love with, because they were so close all those years ago and when he got the job opportunity of a lifetime, he made a promise that he swore on his life to keep.

Selena held the empty laundry basket against her side with one hand and with the other she brushed a strand of her dark hair behind an ear, and she heaved a sigh before turning to go back inside. One thing she wasn't expecting in her own property, by far, was a group of soldiers with rifles in her face, and that was exactly what she met when she turned. She gasped and dropped her laundry basket on the ground, bringing her hands to her mouth to hold in a scream.

When her eyes met with the dark man in the lead, memories began to flood into her mind, making her tremble in fear and confusion. Three men in blue uniform stood around one dark man with guns pointed directly in her face.

A young, vibrant face of a boy flashed through her mind, his goofy smile, and silver bangs in his face, hanging over his mysterious aquamarine eyes. The man in front of her was the exact same picture, but the face had more age lines, and in place of that charming, goofy smile and those bright eyes was a stern, emotionless glower. Dark aquamarine eyes piercing her own ocean blue ones, he looked down at her like an insect, a trouble insect in fact.

"General." One of the soldiers sounded. The man held out a gloved hand, signalling them to lower their weapons, they did just that and Selena lowered her hands, her mouth frozen halfway open. The General took one step forward and Selena took one step back, slipping over a large rock behind her and tore the end of her white dress as she fell to the ground, bottom first. Selena scrambled backwards and the General followed, reaching down suddenly to her level and grabbing her arms. She tried to scream, but nothing came out but a scratchy cry. The General grabbed her arms and pulled her up to her feet and Selena struggled out of his grip.

"General." One of the soldiers sounded once again. The General once again raised his hand and the soldier hushed. His dark eyes seemed to puncture her very soul and she felt as if he were reading her mind. He stepped closer and opened his mouth to speak.

"Silence soldier!" the General barked. The soldier snapped his mouth shut and lowered his head in shame. Selena looked frantically between everyone and then looked back at the General, she opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.

"What is your name?" he asked, folding his arms across his armoured chest. Selena looked almost hurt at that question and she was about to question him when she chose to answer instead, he didn't look too friendly and they all had weapons.

"Selena," she gulped before replying, in case her voice refused to work for her. The General's features froze as his eyes bore into her, and then suddenly his nose wrinkled slightly, as if he were trying to remember something. But he brought a hand up to his face and scratched his nose, then flicking his silver bangs out from in front of his eyes. Then suddenly he held out his left hand.

"Sephiroth," he stated. A soldier behind him coughed, someone else cleared his throat and Selena looked at his left hand. Suddenly Sephiroth realised what he had done and replaced his left hand with his right hand, then cleared his throat. Selena chose not to touch it anyway and he pulled his hand back. Sephiroth was then about to say something else but Selena interrupted.

"Don't you remember me?" she suddenly asked out of the blue. Sephiroth's eyes looked once again as if he were searching his memories for any sign of her, but failed and shook his head firmly.

"No,"

"Oh, maybe I have the wrong person, it has been five years," she shrugged and looked towards the ground. Sephiroth suddenly cleared his throat and said in a businesslike tone.

"We have come in need of your services, Selena, and we are hoping that you will accept," he told her. It didn't sound like he was asking her, but telling her.

"I haven't done a tour in years," Selena replied shakily.

"We will pay you a lot, Selena," he said. Selena shook her head and tried to smile, but her fear stopped her.

"Haven't you heard about what happened last time?" she asked, looking directly up into his eyes with a solemn look. "I lost my leg and three fingers, and much, much more…"

She held up her right hand with the thumb, forefinger and pinkie made of what looked like scrap metal, it had patches of bronze, silver and all kinds of dirty metal one could find anywhere.

"Much more…" Sephiroth's voice drifted as he repeated what she said.

"My best friend for four years was lost up there, and never heard from again," Selena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "After the attack we fell down below to the lower level, and she was trapped above, where the pack made their home..."

"No further, please Selena. Don't feel you have to do this if you don't want to," Sephiroth said.

"But General," a soldier sounded, and Sephiroth turned to glare at him, he shrunk back and stayed silent. Selena stepped forward on a limp and reached out for the abandoned laundry basket, she bent down with a struggle and picked it up. She started to limp towards the house and stopped at the door, hand on the doorknob.

"We must leave at dawn, you're all welcome to bed here tonight," she said before entering the small cottage. The soldiers all looked towards Sephiroth for an order. He nodded his head and started towards the house, with his soldiers in tow.

Dinner that night was wonderful. Sephiroth couldn't remember the last time he had a warm, home cooked meal, if at all. The potato and onion soup along with a fresh loaf of bread could satisfy any hungry belly, well for years on a strict protein diet for his training, it was a 5 star reward.

Sephiroth and the three soldiers all sat around a small, round dining table as they ate a dinner that Selena had prepared for them. Sephiroth noticed that in the middle of the table sat a small pot of pink roses, fresh, real aromatic rose; Sephiroth noted that they were everywhere in the house as soon as he walked in. Selena had stayed in the kitchen throughout the meal, and only came out to clear the dishes, receiving 'thank you's' before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

After a few minutes of dishes clattering, Selena came back into the dining room untying her apron and placing it on a side table for the time being.

"If you follow me, I will show you to the spare room," she said calmly, gesturing a hand towards the staircase before moving forward. The three soldiers all looked towards their general, and he nodded approval, so they started to follow.

Halfway up the stairs, one of the smaller soldiers cleared their throat. Selena paused at the top of the staircase, turning to look at the SOLDIER, now only noticing that one of the soldiers was a young girl, also the one whom cleared her throat to gain attention.

"Uh…I'd like to apologise on behalf of my comrades miss, for our abrupt entrance before, it's precautionary to—"

"I understand, I used to be in SOLDIER when I was younger too," Selena interrupted. Her statement earning her surprised glances from the three young soldiers, and when she looked over to Sephiroth, he was just standing there with his arms folded looking at her with an unreadable expression, seemingly not bothered or shocked by the news. She then turned again towards the hallway and motioned towards the first door on the left.

"I only have one spare bed, I suppose you all brought your own sleeping materials," Selena stated, looking to each of her four guests, with two of the soldiers nodding in confirmation. As the three soldiers started to the door, she stopped the young girl, who shot her a shocked glance. "The bathroom is down the hall on the right, feel free to use my shampoo and soap."

The girl's face lit up with her brown eyes sparkling and she smiled, extending her slender, tanned hand. "Thank you, Selena. My name's Sara."

Selena took her hand and shook it tenderly, and returned the smile. The three soldiers filed into the room and to Selena's surprise, Sephiroth extended his hand once again to her. She took it gratefully, feeling the familiar warmth with a sting of foreign touch.

"Thank you, Selena, for helping us," the words came out his mouth strained, as if they were rare to be uttered by the general. Selena thought to say, 'did I have a choice?' but decided against it for it might have sounded too cold. She tried to put on her best smile and replied.

"You're welcome,"

Sephiroth withdrew his hand, Selena's heart sank at the motion, and he disappeared into the other room. With a sigh and fighting back tears, Selena treaded sloppily back down the stairs and back into the kitchen to finished tidying up.

As Selena hobbled her way back into the kitchen she heard a small thud behind her. She swiftly turned on her heels to look towards the stairs and saw Sara approaching her. Selena smiled at the crooked smirk Sara had on her face, her short brown bangs embracing her forehead and cheeks like vines.

"Sara," Selena greeted.

"Hey," she greeted excitedly. She ran a hand through her hair, boyishly, "um, I don't mean to intrude, I know it's not SOLDIER like, but this is my first mission outside of Junon!"

Selena's mind quickly flashed with memories of Junon, the military base of SOLDIER, so many happy memories of her youth, swiftly washed away with a blink of an eye.

"Oh well, how are you enjoying it?" Selena asked.

"Well, it's good to get away from those guys!" she laughed. "I've been surrounded by men for over 2 years! I finally have another woman to talk to!"

Selena chuckled. "I know the feeling. You don't have any other women at your base?"

Sara shook her head and took a seat in a nearby chair, Selena did the same. "None as good as me, I'm 2nd class SOLDIER. All the other women aren't that good. But I trained very hard so I could meet Sephiroth!"

Selena felt a pang of jealousy swarm through her veins, but ignored it for the time being.

"He's gorgeous, and the best in SOLDIER!" she went on, her upbeat tone cheering Selena although she should be feeling jealousy. "But he's such a sauerkraut. He never smiles, or laughs. I don't think he's even interested in women!"

That last part was whispered and Selena laughed outwardly, the first time in years. Gosh, this girl is wonderful, she thought. Selena rested her chin in her right hand and looked at Sara adoringly, waiting for her to continue. Sara had the most contagious smile on her face, and she talked to Selena as if they were best friends, which made Selena smile even more.

"Hey…I have a question," Sara's tone went serious now, and Selena's smile faded to that of curiosity. "Did you used to know Sephiroth when you were in SOLDIER? That must've been a while ago, when you were my age. What was he like? Was he different? Why doesn't he remember you?"

Selena chuckled again, and had a solemn look on her face. She sighed and dropped her hand, looking away. "Please don't say a word if I tell you…"

"Aw, gosh! I never talk to him anyway; I'm just a grunt to him!" Sara exclaimed, giggling at her joke. Selena smiled briefly, and then it disappeared.

"We were best friends," Sara gasped. "And I know exactly why he doesn't remember me. It's the Mako. He didn't get along with the other boys; they were all too immature and childish. He just wanted to be alone, except for when I came along."

Sara had her head in her hands, listening intently, with awe and envy apparent in her eyes.

"We were both in the same classes, rank, and quarters." Selena continued. "I don't know about you, but when I was there everyone shared quarters with everyone. The girl's didn't have the privacy they needed, except for showers of course."

Sara nodded, in agreement. "Yea, it's still the same."

Selena smiled. "He was excellent in every skill; he had a never ending supply of stamina, strength and brains. He only became general at the age of 16. We only knew each other for two years until he had to leave. A couple of months after he left, I was lonely, depressed, and my performance dwindled, knowing I'll probably never see him again. I dropped out of SOLDIER, before getting discharged and sent home."

Sara looked up at Selena sympathetically, and reached out her hand to touch hers and muttered. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Selena chirped, wiping an apparent tear from one of her eyes and trying to brush off the horrible feeling inside of her. "I just can't believe I'm seeing him again, but as a different person."

Sara nodded, pretending to understand, but really not, and then out the blue, she asked. "Did you love him?"

Selena shot her an accusing look. "Oh, no, I-I…um…" her eyes darting from Sara to the wall and then downwards. "I think so…"

Sara squealed in excitement and shot up out of her seat. "Oooh that's wonderful! I love lurrrve! Haha…why don't you tell him the truth?"

Selena looked up, surprised, and then she faked a laugh. "Oh, gosh, no, I couldn't do that. He won't believe me; he'll probably think I'm making it up!"

"I guess," Sara shrugged her shoulders, then rising, brushing off her blue uniform for no apparent reason and grinning toothily. "Well, I'm going to go have that heavenly shower you said I could have."

"Knock yourself out," Selena replied, and then quickly added, "not literally."

Sara laughed and then turned to bolt up the stairs, leaving Selena to her newfound misery. Sara had struck a long lost nerve in her; she had the exact personality as her deceased friend, Greta. The sad thought made a tear escape her eye and trickle down her cheek.

Sephiroth sat on the lone bed in the spare room, as the two other soldiers, Nick and Dean, lay on their respective sleeping bags talking softly. Sephiroth had his boots removed, and was sitting cross legged on the bed, looking down, brows furrowed and trying to remember something. Selena had asked him if he remembered her, but why? He didn't remember her from anywhere; he didn't even recognise her face at all.

Sephiroth's memories were sort of a bit blurry, and year by year they become more faded. Maybe they were in SOLDIER together and were friends? He tried to think whether they could have been classmates, or maybe roommates, or maybe he should just ask her. 'No, that would be silly,' he thought, 'I'm not like that. Maybe I'll forget her again after this ordeal is over.'

That thought struck a chord somewhere deep inside. 'Forget her again?' Sephiroth shook his head and lay down on the bed, hitting the pillow with a soft poof. 'Did I even know her? Or is she just some obsessed, crazy, lonely woman?'

Sephiroth rolled over, trying to dismiss the thoughts before they made him feel anything more, he already made himself feel awful for thinking such things. The strange feelings were making him feel sad, something that he hasn't felt in years. Sephiroth sighed and closed his eyes, trying to let sleep overcome him.


	2. Chapter 2

Forgotten Memories  
Chapter 2  
By FallenAngelOfSalvation

_Memory sequence..._

"Selena,"

Perfect oval-shaped green orbs were the first for Selena to see when she opened her eyes. A smile spread across her rosy cheeks as she recognised her friend.

"You're finally awake, sleeping beauty," Sephiroth sat at her side on the bed she was sleeping on leaning over her, his long, silvery locks falling into his face. Selena chuckled at his flirtatious comment.

"How long have I been out?" Selena asked, looking around the white room, realising where she was. Sephiroth looked towards the door, to see if anyone had noticed she had awakened and wanted to come in and check on her. Then he looked back at her, all the expression leaving his features and welling up in his eyes, preparing himself for the worst of her reaction.

"Oh, about a month," Sephiroth almost whispered, then cringed at the sharp intake of breath Selena made, preparing to make an outburst or even cry, but she just looked down.

"Wow…it must've been a hard knock…" she trailed off. She suddenly felt a warm hand on top of hers, green eyes locking on to her ocean blue ones.

"I'm so sorry Selena," Sephiroth said whole-heartedly, he squeezed her hand and brought his other one up to her face, brushing a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, revealing a three inch long scar just above her right eye, cutting through her brow. Selena looked into his eyes and struggled to comprehend why he's apologising. "You probably don't remember much, but it was me. We were sparring, and I knocked you flat out by accident, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you so much."

"Oh, Sephiroth, I know, you don't know your own strength. And besides, they shouldn't have put you up against me, or any girl for that matter," Selena pulled her hand away, feeling uncomfortable with the sudden closeness Sephiroth was applying. Sephiroth pulled his hand away also, and nodded in agreement, slightly hurt by her retreating touch.

"I better go and let someone know you're awake," Sephiroth stood up quickly, then turned without another word and headed out the door, leaving Selena momentarily by herself.

_End memory sequence..._

The sun rose quite early the next morning and was so overshadowed by the grey clouds; nobody had even noticed it was dawn until Sephiroth awoke before everybody else. He rubbed his eyes groggily and swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand up, at the same time purposefully accidentally kicking one of the grunts sleeping on the floor. Nick let out a muffled yelp and lifted his head, looking up at the general, glaring down at him.

"Aah! General, sir!" he looked around sharply, and then towards the window, which had barely any light shining through, and made the room look like late evening. Nick shook Dean laying next to him hurriedly, stirring the boy awake also, and they both sat up from their sleeping places. Sara had also woken up from where she slept at the foot of the bed in her sleeping bag and had risen to start getting ready.

"What time is it, sir?" Sara asked timidly, not expecting an answer. Sephiroth glanced at her, then went towards the door, which then had suddenly opened by itself and made everybody freeze and stare. But it was only Selena, dressed in a powder blue bath robe and slippers, carrying a large tray at chest height. She plastered a wide smile on her face as she looked on at her four guests, hair a mess, all in their night gear (aside from Sephiroth, for he fell asleep fully clothes) and just woken up.

"Hungry?" She asked as she stepped over Dean and in to the middle of the room, handing the tray to Sephiroth over Nick. Sephiroth looked down at the tray and it had four plates of bacon, sausages, eggs and toast with four glasses of orange juice. Sephiroth took the tray and sat back down on the bed, still holding the tray on his lap. Selena clasped her hands together and looked around at everybody, and then locked her eyes on Sephiroth's. "You're going to need your strength for today's trip, and after breakfast I would like to speak with you about said 'excursion'. I need to know where we are going, how long we need to be, and I don't suppose you would tell me why."

Sephiroth opened his mouth to speak, but Selena turned around and left the room, closing the door with a soft click. Sara called out after Selena after the closed door a 'thank you' and they all got up to help themselves to breakfast.

"Smells yum!" Sara exclaimed as she sat down on the bed next to Sephiroth with her plate, Sephiroth moved over slightly so that he wasn't so close to the over-excited hyperactive grunt. Nick and Dean both sat cross-legged on their sleeping bags, only wearing their shorts and singlets, heating heartily.

"Mmm…Selena is a great cook. She'd be an awesome wife!" Nick said making Dean laugh and nod his head in agreement.

"Grow up and behave yourself Nicholas!" Sephiroth snapped, haven't even touched his breakfast yet. Nick looked down, not shocked at all by the outburst, and muttered a sorry. "That's not very nice of you to say about her; after all she's doing for us."

After Sephiroth finished his death glare to the top of Nick's head, he looked down at his plate, Dean elbowing Nick in the ribs softly and smirking. Sephiroth picked up his plate and drink, stepped over the two soldiers and headed out the door, deciding to join Selena downstairs to eat.

Selena was sitting at the dining room table, stabbing softly at her scrambled eggs with her fork, lost in thought, when none other than Sephiroth appeared at the doorway. She gasped and dropped her fork into her food and clutched her chest.

"My…you startled me!" she cried. Sephiroth placed his food on the table and sat down across from her, giving her a sympathetic look, muttered a sorry and picked up his utensils to start eating. 'He mustn't be much of a talker anymore,' Selena thought. 'He is such a different person to when I knew him; he's a stranger to me now.' She picked her fork back up and continued eating; trying not to watch her childhood friend eat his own meal, in case he didn't like it.

"I want to thank you, Selena," Sephiroth suddenly said, which made Selena look up from her finished meal and smile.

"You already have," she replied sweetly.

"For the breakfast, and the evening meal was lovely," Sephiroth took one last bite and then placed his knife and fork onto the plate side by side politely.

"It's okay, I know what kind of food they make you eat in SOLDIER," Selena laughed, then froze, realising what she said. Sephiroth looked at her quizzically, and folded his hands on the table.

"That's why you asked me if I remember you," Sephiroth queried. Selena's mouth opened and closed a few times, before exhaling in relief. 'Does he remember?' "You must have been there at the same time I was. But no, I'm sorry I don't recognise you."

Selena's heart sank and she felt herself about to cry, but blinked quickly a few times, took a deep breath, and exhaled carefully. Sephiroth was watching her expectantly, trying to make out the feelings that she's expressing.

"Yes…" she breathed, tilting her head slightly and looking out the living room window across from her, past Sephiroth, and out to the front garden. 'We were best friends…'

"What made you leave SOLDIER?" Selena snapped her head back to Sephiroth, shocked at the mere question, her eyes darted, and then she looked down at the table between her plate and her chest.

"Uh…I wasn't very good. I left before I was kicked out," she tried to laugh with good humour, but couldn't make herself even giggle a bit. Sephiroth nodded and looked away from her, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. 'Why am I feeling so awkward around her and shy around her? No woman has ever made me feel weak.'

The sound of thundering footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, and the three soldiers appeared at the doorway all dressed up in uniform, all save for their helmets, and Sara standing in the middle holding their empty plates and glasses. Selena rose from her seat, gathering up hers and Sephiroth's empty dishes and gratefully took the ones that Sara was holding.

"Selena, I'll do the washing up for you while you get yourself dressed," Sara offered, walking over to Selena, who started running the water in the kitchen sink. She smiled thankfully and headed towards the stairs. Sephiroth stood up and followed Selena upstairs to go and put his shoes back on.

Selena disappeared into the room opposite the one Sephiroth had slept in, and closed the door softly behind her. She wandered over to her wardrobe while slipping off her robe and letting it fall to the floor in a heap. She opened the door and spotted herself in the full length mirror, standing there in all her bareness, she ran a hand up her body starting from her belly and tracing around all the imperfections of her skinny body. She let her hand trail around her right breast, and then back downwards towards her crotch. Attached just barely an inch below her crotch her entire left leg was nothing but patches of scrap metal. The local doctor did wonders with every bit of scrap he could find, she was eternally grateful for the free service he did for her.

She quickly hugged her thin, frail frame and looked away, eyes full of pain and sorrow. 'Who would ever want this?' she thought to herself bitterly, 'I'm ugly, and always will be.' She looked up at herself again, this time examining her face; her only beauty lay in her eyes. She had a small, pointy nose, thin, pink lips and personally she thought her eyes were placed too close together. But her eyes were of the deepest ocean blue, which sparkled an incredible bright colour in the sunlight. Selena sighed and proceeded to find some clothes to get dressed.

Outside her bedroom door, Sephiroth stood leaning against the wall looking up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts again. 'She makes me feel so comfortable, more comfortable than I have ever felt in my life.' Sephiroth furrowed his brows in concentration, thinking back to his early days in SOLDIER. He doesn't remember much, only that he spent two years in military training before being pushed up ranks to general, but he doesn't remember faces, people's names, or activities, or even occasions. He suddenly brought his hands up to his head ran his hands over his face and through his hair, inwardly having a mental breakdown. 'Gah, why can't I remember anything of my past? Is it the Mako inside of me? Or have I had amnesia at some point in my life?'

Sephiroth shook his head, no he couldn't have. The door opened next to him and he stood back, watching as Selena walked out and shut the door behind her, noticing him standing there. She was wearing simple black trousers with hiking boots, and a dark green long sleeved turtleneck jumper, and slung around her shoulder was a large, black camping backpack. She smiled at him.

"While you're here," she started. Sephiroth nodded upwardly, indicating for her to carry on. "I have packed a week's worth of food and water, is that enough?"

"Plenty," Sephiroth replied, returning her smile with a half crooked one, obviously not used to smiling much at all. "We need to go to the Mako reactor up on the top of Haian peak, it should roughly be about four days trek, with your guidance, I don't know how long it would've been without you."

"You probably wouldn't even make it there before getting attacked or run out of food and water, there has not been much civilisation there for many years." Selena returned. Sephiroth nodded in agreement, for everybody knows what happens when you attempt the Haian Mountain without an expert guide, which are few and far between. Selena is the only experienced and knowledgeable guide left living. "Shall we be off?"

Sephiroth nodded and followed Selena down the stairs to where the three young soldiers were waiting, each of them holding a large backpack on their backs, similar to what Selena had and in their hands they held their helmets, and their rifles holstered on their sides. Sara instinctively opened the front door and ushered the boys out, followed by Sephiroth and herself before Selena shut the door behind her.

"Uh…Selena," one of the boys, now unrecognisable because of his helmet on his head, raised his hand into the air as if he were at school. "Where's the toilet? I got up in the middle of the night, but couldn't find it."

The other boy and Sara laughed.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, the house was built so long ago before toilets were invented, and I only had enough spare money recently to have a shower installed," Selena laughed, then she took the boy's arm and led him to the side of the house and pointed towards a tall, skinny wooden closet. "There's the outhouse, don't worry, I keep it quite clean!"

The boy hurriedly made his way to the outhouse quickly muttering a thank you, and disappeared into it, the door banging closed with a light thwack.

"If anybody else needs to go before we go, feel free!" Selena exclaimed happily, watching as the other boy ran towards the outhouse upon seeing his friend exit.

They were all set and ready to leave. Selena led the group up the path towards the long wooden bridge leading up the spiralling way to the mountain, while Sephiroth walked about five feet behind her, and the three soldiers single file behind their general. A thick gust of wind whisked through the group, making Selena's hair fly wildly behind her as she approached the bridge.

"I fear it may rain later in the day," Selena stated.

"Nothing we can't handle, as you probably already know," Sara shouted from the back of the line so Selena could hear her. Selena smiled as she stepped onto the bridge to start walking. They all followed suit very carefully, one step at a time, over the wobbly, unstable bridge. Thankfully, they all made it over with no breakages, trips or any problems at all.

Selena exhaled in relief, thankful that it was still intact and strong after all these years. She turned to the rest of the group and gestured towards the mountain. "Shall we?"

A/N: At the end of the memory sequence, I know it kinda sounds gay but when I submitted this chapter it wouldn't let me use my favourite symbols and I couldn't figure out what to use. Also, It's been a few years since I've updated, I hope it's still good anyway, I don't suppose many people read it in the first place. Anyway, I would love to hear from everybody who read this, any type of criticism will be welcomed, just don't be immature about it. Thanks, I'm going to try and get the next one up tomorrow night, right now it's late and I'm tired. Goodnight!


	3. Chapter 3

Forgotten Memories  
Chapter 3  
By FallenAngelOfSalvation

_Memory sequence_

The night air was cool crisp as the moon shone brightly at its fullest in the starlit sky, crickets chirping in the nearby shrubs, and birds cawing and chirping their goodnights to each other. It was a beautiful night for a contemplative walk, which is exactly what Selena decided to do. It was about 8pm, and hour before lights out and Selena had crept out of the dormitories on the far left of the campus and started her brisk walk for the evening. It had been a long, tiring day, so this was considered as her 'me time'.

The young girl wore simple grey slacks and shirt along with white running shoes, the generic outfit all of the recruits are required to wear during their training, and she had her shoulder length black hair tied into a sloppy ponytail. Selena wasn't a very attractive girl. She was below average, as she considered herself. Her ocean blue eyes looked dark and mysterious in the dim lamplights along the footpath circling the campus.

As Selena walked down the winding path, relishing in the soft breeze tickling her bare arms softly, raising the hairs slightly and sending a chill down her back, she pondered. She pondered about many things. Many things had been playing her mind ever since she heard the news, well two lots of news, and both of them were very awful, tear-jerking news.

Her best friend has passed the mid year examinations into becoming 1st class SOLDIER, and she had been urged to leave the academy. Horrible, depressing, devastating news. She had been pulled aside by her best friend at lunchtime with the dire news, well, excellent news for him, but for her…she may never see her best friend ever again. If that's not enough for the day, before dinnertime, she was pulled aside by the general and told that she failed her mid year examinations and it would look better on her record if she leaves rather than gets kicked out.

The one main issue plaguing her is that she hasn't told her best friend yet, for he was celebrating with the rest of the recruits whom had passed their tests, and Selena wouldn't be surprised if he never noticed her absence. She had spent most of her evening mulling over all the possibilities that they could keep in touch. She had thought about applying for a job with Shin-Ra hoping that one day she might see him again, something administrative, or maybe they could write and call each other often, to stay friends.

The thought saddened Selena, because with the unlimited potential her best friend had, she may never get a chance to speak with him, and he may never have the time to write to her, ever. Selena felt depressed, and utterly, utterly hopeless with this situation. Selena heaved a sigh and flopped herself down on a nearby bench, one that overlooked the extraordinary garden in the courtyard of the campus. She studied some of the yellow, blue, red, pink, orange, purple and all sorts of coloured flowers that bloomed in the garden before her, revelling in their independent beauty.

"Mind if I join you?"

Selena almost jumped out of her skin with the sudden spoken presence of someone close to her, and brought a hand to her chest as she turned to see the intruder. He heart slowed steadily when she realised the person was none other than her best friend, Sephiroth. She smiled awkwardly and patted the empty space next to her. Sephiroth smiled back at her and took the offered position next to his friend, absently flipping his long, silver locks behind his shoulders. Sephiroth looked deeply into her eyes with his beautiful green ones, searching for something, and answer of some sort.

"Don't think I didn't see you leave," Sephiroth almost whispered. Selena blushed softly, and looked down.

"I needed some time to myself for a while," she said softly. She wanted to say more, she wanted to blurt everything out to him that was on her mind, but for once she was reeling over the consequences, she didn't want to be reduced to a wet, blubbering, crying mess right now, not in front of her best friend, on his special night too.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked, his eyes pleading for a truthful answer. She looked up at him sorrowfully and so solemn.

"I'm leaving SOLDIER," she uttered. "They are making me leave; otherwise I'll be kicked out."

"They can't do that!" Sephiroth exclaimed. "What did you do to deserve getting kicked out? I don't think they can do that to you."

"They can, and they have," Selena dropped her head into her arms, resting on her knees, and fought back tears that were begging to run free down her cheeks.

"I failed my exam. I'm useless!" Selena cried. "I can't do anything right. Why would they keep me here if I can't learn anything or get stronger? I can't even shoot a rifle properly!"

"Oh, Selena," Sephiroth murmured weakly, bringing a hand up to rest on her shoulder, hesitant but trying to comfort his friend. Underneath his hand he felt her tremble with unshed tears, so he pulled her closer, grabbed her other shoulder with his free hand and pulled her into a gentle embrace. Selena gasped in surprise and suddenly let her tears escape, along with subtle sobs and tremors wracking through her body.

"I'm never going to see you again!" Selena wailed between sobs and gasps. She pulled away from the warmth of her friend's arms and wiped her face with her hands and her shirt, trying to stop crying like a baby. The first time Sephiroth had ever seen her cry. Ever. Sephiroth seized her hands in his and closed them together, and then he brought them between their chests, their close proximity allowing them contact with each other.

"I promise you Selena, I will never forget you, and I will see you again, as you I." he looked intensely into her misty eyes, a seriousness that Selena had never seen on his usual cheeky, playful and mischievous person. With Sephiroth's promise, Selena smiled the most beautiful smile that he had ever seen on her face, which contagiously made him smile.

"Do you really mean that, Sephiroth?" Selena asked, awkwardly pulling her hands away, unsure about the sudden surge of emotions the embrace was giving her. Sephiroth brought his hands up to her face and delicately held her cheeks as he leaned down and placed a feather soft kiss upon her lips. Sephiroth pulled away from the kiss, looked deep into her eyes again, a smile appearing briefly before he leaned in for another kiss, this time a little bit harder, deeper and meaningful.

The kiss was utter bliss. It was the most pleasurable moment Selena had ever experienced, and she loved every lingering second of it, pushing to the back of her mind the fact that it was her best friend that was kissing her. Half the pent up emotions that didn't stream out before with the rest burst out of her again, and Selena broke off the kiss abruptly, choking on sobs and tears running down her flushed cheeks.

"I'm sorry Selena," Sephiroth quickly said as he pulled her into a tight embrace, hugging her closely to his person, allowing her to cry and blubber against his shoulder. "I shouldn't have done that, with all that you've been through."

"It's okay…" Selena mumbled between soft sobs, trying to calm herself while breathing in the sweet scent of her friend. He smelled just like peaches. He always did.

"I'm going to miss you, Selena, you truly are a great friend," Sephiroth muttered against her neck, secretly wishing that he had kissed her long ago, and not on the eve of her leaving.

_End memory sequence_

As Selena lay on her sleeping bag in the dim light of the campfire and the quiet, lonely deadness of the night, her long since dismissed memories came flooding back to her. Ever since her childhood friend appeared in her life again, obviously had forgotten his promise so many years ago, all that she could think about were her wonderful memories of him.

Sephiroth was sitting on the other side of the campfire, gazing into the crackling flames, lost in deep thought. His mysterious tour guide, Selena, had sparked long lost emotions within him, and he can't seem to understand why. It was frustrating him the fact that he couldn't remember his days as a recruit in SOLDIER. Maybe they were friends back then? Or even talked a little and Selena was a bit sensitive that he doesn't remember her. No. If so, she would've told him already. Right?

Dean and Sara had fallen asleep long ago shortly after their evening meal. Nick had tragically lost his life in their last battle of the day. They were ambushed from behind by four large bird like beasts; one of them snatched him up in its large beak and bashed and shook him with all its might until finally throwing him against a wall and left him to endure a slow and painful death with internal bleeding. They had to leave him behind otherwise his lifeless body would slow them down significantly, which would be almost fatal considering where they are.

They had all been travelling for 3 days and were on their way back from the Mako reactor. I turned out that all Sephiroth was sent for was to gather some 'top secret' files and research for Shin-Ra. Apparently even the three Soldiers weren't allowed to know. They had about a half a days trek back to Selena's home, which she was itching to drop dead into her warm bed.

Selena lay still as the dead, sating up at the starry sky, lost in thought, leading Sephiroth to believe she was asleep to avoid awkward conversation. She was still upset about the accident where Nick lost his life, and confused about the dark, silent, seemingly emotionless man whom was once a young, cheeky teenager in love so many years ago. Oh how Selena wanted to tell him so much, she wanted to tell Sephiroth that they used to be best friends, and if they were together longer, they may have been more than friends.

"I know you're awake over there," Sephiroth broke the silence between them all of a sudden, which caused Selena turn her head sharply towards the man on the other side of the small campfire. When she met his eyes she sat up into a sitting position, brushing her hair behind her shoulders casually.

"Oh?" Selena queried, standing slowly to stretch her legs, a smile creeping onto her lips. "You were watching me?"

"It doesn't take much to open your ears and listen," Sephiroth stated matter-of-factly. "I can hear anything up to ten metres away."

"Wow, that's amazing," Selena exclaimed as she walked over to take a seat next to the general.

Sephiroth edged over slightly in the other direction as Selena took a seat next to him on his sleeping bag. Obviously him talking aloud had been an invitation in her books for her to come over and join him, which wasn't Sephiroth's motive at all.

Selena looked into the fire in front of her, her smile still plastered on her features at the pure fact that she was sitting next to Sephiroth again, something she had only dreamed of for over five years now. Sephiroth sat with his legs crossed and hands resting in his lap, looking at the side of Selena's face, drinking up her soft features, trying to search his memories for a trace of her, even if so little. But to no avail. Sephiroth sighed in frustration and looked away from Selena, causing her to glance over at him.

"Is there something the matter?" she asked tentatively, trying to catch his eyes in hers. He looked over at her and hesitated for a moment, but then decided to speak.

"Back in SOLDIER…were we in the same battalion? Did we actually know each other? I know it must sound like a silly question…" he trailed off but kept eye contact with her. Selena looked over at the two sleeping soldiers, then back at Sephiroth and decided to let the cat out of the bag.

"Sephiroth…I think that maybe it might do you good if I told you the truth," Selena said slowly, observing his reaction, but didn't get much of one. She continued slowly, thinking over her words as she spoke. "We were friends, you and I. We were practically inseparable, and you were a good friend too."

The look on Sephiroth's face was priceless. He raised his eyebrows and his mouth opened slightly, and he was desperately searching Selena's eyes for any sign of a joke, but she looked so serious. When Sephiroth finally found his words, what he said made Selena blush and look away swiftly.

"Were…were we together?" he asked. Selena's cheeks flushed hot red as her memory of the kisses he gave her flashed through her mind. She opened her mouth to say no when he continued talking. "That would explain the strange feelings I've been having since I first saw you. I mean, I felt like I knew you, but it felt like I was trying to remember the taste of something…"

Selena just kept quiet and let him talk. Deep inside her she was overwhelmed with joy that he was remembering at least something. After a long and awkward silence, Sephiroth broke the tension.

"Selena?"

'_Selena,'_

He said her name the way he used to, it made her heart clench with pain and hurt more as it started hammering in her chest. She wouldn't cry. She tried so hard not to let herself cry. She barely knew Sephiroth anymore; she doesn't know how he'd react or what he'd say. It's been five years, and appearance and demeanour wise he has changed a lot. He used to be bouncy, energetic, cheeky and mischievous, and now he's quiet, reserved, dark and powerful.

"I'm sorry Selena," Sephiroth said. Selena looked up at him with sad eyes, questioning his apology. "I know this must be hard on you."

The smile that Selena have to Sephiroth struck a chord somewhere deep inside of him, and it made him feel gloom as well. 'There's more to it than that…' Sephiroth wanted to say, but couldn't find himself to make the words come out of his mouth.

"I'm going to get some sleep," Selena stood up and hurriedly walked back to her sleeping bag on the other side of the fire, laying down on it and closed her eyes with her back to the fire. She quickly added before dozing off. "We leave at dawn."

A/N: Boy I write things slowly. Sorry it took a little while. I've been very busy with things lately. I get writer's block a lot and don't get much inspiration anymore. I haven't even played Crisis Core so I don't know too much about Sephiroth's personality except for FFVII and Advent Children, oh, and of course other fanfiction too. I'm sure he's not really a sourpuss all the time. Well, working on my next chapter now. I'm not that good at action sequences and I don't have too much of a good imagination so I just concentrate on the romance and angst angst angst. Anyway, I hope you leave me yummy reviews!


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